Well, if you're a fan of ambitious and challenging scheduling, look no further than the University of Virginia men's tennis team. The Cavaliers are playing as many highly ranked and high profile teams as possible. Here's a short list: Pepperdine, Southern Cal, VCU, Notre Dame and Illinois. And that was just in the opening month of the spring season! UVa continues its fierce scheduling battle with a pair of top 25 teams - Texas A&M and Texas - this weekend at the new indoor facility of the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville. Virginia currently leads the nation in matches against top 25 opponents (4) and ranked wins (6).

"I think this is the best thing for our team," Cav coach Brian Boland said. "We have learned a lot about our team and what we have to do against this great competition and hopefully it will pay off in May. So far, so good. … Each and every week, we continue to improve and each player is developing as we come along. I think we've started to play well, maybe even a little ahead of schedule."

The Texas A&M match kicks off the big weekend at 5 p.m. today. The doubles matches roll out first with one point going to the winners of two matches. That point gives a team the lead going into singles matches, which each count one point toward the team total.

Virginia has been strong in doubles throughout Boland's tenure, though the Cavs did struggle just a bit in that area earlier this season as the team tinkered with different pairs in different slots. Eventually, the Hoos settled back into last season's rotation, but Boland thinks the early season competition for doubles slots has made his team better in terms of depth and experience.

“We had a great deal of success with it last y ear. This season, I experimented a little bit to see if we could push any of our doubles teams to another level. We're back to where we started, but I think it made us better,” Boland said. “It tested them a little bit and kept everyone working hard to improve and develop. It helped develop some depth.”

For Cavalier fans in the area, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to take in some quality college tennis. The Hoos face No. 24 Texas A&M today at 5 p.m. and No. 20 Texas on Sunday at 10 p.m. The Boar's Head facility seats a little more than 1,000 people and has a standing room area available in an overlooking lobby. You can see all six singles matches at one time and two large scoreboards make it easy to keep track of the scores. Last week, the Hoo Crew, the Virginia band, and nearly 900 people attended the Baylor match - the goal this week is to break the 1,000-fan barrier so head on out and support the Cavaliers. Admission is free!

"Last week, with the Hoo Crew and the band and so many fans, it was an incredible environment for college tennis. It gave our guys a lift at the beginning and they really carried that energy through the match," Boland said. "This is without question one of the best venues in all of college tennis. You can watch all six courts at once, there's a little over 1,000 seats, a lobby area, two major scoreboards. The atmosphere is incredible and it's definitely worth going if you can.”

“Boyd Tinsley, who helped make this all possible, the people in the community and at the University, they deserve credit for helping us all enjoy great tennis,” he added.

Don't worry if you've never been to a tennis match before. Tennis fans are among the friendliest around and they will help you understand rules you might not know. Plus, once you head out to a match, you just might get hooked.

“I had someone tell me that they had never even thought about going to a tennis match until last week,” Boland said, “and that being there at the match last week made them a college tennis fan because it was so much fun.”

This article is a free example of what subscribers get through their Sabre Edge subscription. Sign up today!